Washington, Jan 11: A legislation backed by the Trump administration pushing for merit-based immigration and increasing the allotment of Green Cards by a hefty 45 per cent annually has been introduced in the House of Representatives, a move that could benefit Indian techies if signed into law.
The legislation ‘Securing America’s Future Act’ if passed by Congress and signed into law by US President Donald Trump will end the diversity visa programme and reduce the overall immigration levels from currently averaging 1.05 million to 260,000 a year.
It seeks to increase the allotment of Green Cards by an impressive 45 per cent from the current 120,000 to 175,000 per annum. Indian-American technology professionals, who come to the US mainly on H-1B visas and opt for Green Cards or legal permanent residence status, are expected to be a major beneficiary of the ‘Securing America’s Futures Act’.
As per unofficial estimate, there are nearly 500,000 Indians waiting in the queue for Green Cards and have to seek annual extensions of their H-1B visas. Many wait for decades to get their Green Cards. The H-1B programme offers temporary US visas that allow companies to hire highly skilled foreign professionals working in areas with shortages of qualified American workers. The increase in the number of Green Cards per annum is likely to reduce their wait period drastically.
Having a Green Card, officially known as a Permanent Resident Card, allows a person to live and work permanently in the United States.
PTI
